Beverly Licensing Board considers changing policy on all age events for local businesses

Wednesday

Jul 18, 2012 at 12:01 AMJul 18, 2012 at 6:20 PM

All age events at establishments in Beverly are under fire.

Suzanne Snell / Wicked Local Beverly

All age events at establishments in Beverly are under fire.

After a June 1 incident at the Herman A. Spear American Legion Post on Judson Street where a 28-year-old man had to be MedFlighted to Boston due to injuries he sustained after a “battle of the bands” event (see related story), the Beverly Licensing Board sent a letter to all local establishments on June 22 warning against all age events.

The letter stated that it had come to the board’s attention that some establishments in the city have been hosting or arranging events for all ages.

During a public meeting last week, Licensing Board Chair Dick Kelley admitted the board could have been more specific with their two-sentence letter.

“The Board does not feel that ‘all age events’ are appropriate and strongly suggests that your establishment not hold or host these types of events in the future,” the letter read.

Mark Hersey, general manager of the Spotlight Tavern, located at 208 Rantoul St., received the letter. At the meeting on July 12, he said it would be unfortunate for these events to be banned, adding that approximately every 14 weeks students from the Fabulous School of Music in Beverly put on a recital at the tavern.

Members of the community came to the discussion to voice their opinion of the issue, including Fabulous School of Music owner and teacher Tom Moore, as well as a few of his students and their parents.

The School of Music has a longstanding relationship with Hersey, who allows them to hold their recitals at the Pickled Onion and now the Spotlight Tavern.

Kelley said if he were to rewrite the letter for clarity, it “would have stated that all age events are a cause for concern and we’d put the license holders on notice that if anything occurs we will be very quick to act and the penalty will be severe.”

For example, he explained, how these events are monitored, when they take place and where discussed.

“The problem is even if they have a wristband, that doesn’t preclude a person that is 21 from buying two drinks and bringing it back to the table [and giving it to someone underage],” Beverly Police Sgt. William Page said.

No ruling was taken last Thursday night, however Page mentioned that the Licensing Board does have the authority to ban all age events or severely restrict them.

“We need to look at this much closer, but I do feel if the board does not act we will put children in a dangerous situation,” he added.

Kelley noted these events, such as the one at Spear Post, could take place without any knowledge of the board.

He said a possible solution is to have an establishment come before the board before the event to give details of what will take place and when.

Police Chief Mark Ray said he would like the opportunity to review what these restaurants and other venues plan to have going on in order to have proper restriction in place.

“We will look into other communities to see how they handle underage events,” Ray said.

For the past six years the Fabulous School of Music has organized student bands and supervises them at recitals in local restaurants for students to get an idea of what it is like to be a performing musician.

From 6-8:30 p.m., usually on Wednesday nights, parents, grandparents and the performers’ friends from school go to listen to music played by the students at the Spotlight Tavern.

Moore said the recitals are a wonderful experience for his students.

“They go in and they are scared because they have never been on a stage before,” Moore explained. “You see them open up on stage. It gives them confidence, and a lot of these kids need that boost.”

Randy Leventhal, a teacher at the music school, said, “I’ve been doing it since 2005 and everyone has a great time. It is different from what happens at the Spear Post.”

Erin Burke-Moran, a guitar teacher at the Beverly school, said he is supervising four bands at the moment, helping them learn songs and prepare for their performances.

Burke-Moran’s youngest band member is 9-year-old drummer, Charlie Tilton, who plays with students up to 12 years old. Another band ranges from 15-19 years old.

“The American Legion is an another all-age venue where kids get together to socialize and listen to music,” said Burke-Moran. “It’s sad that underage drinking happens, but kids sometimes make bad decisions.”

Tanya Cameron of Marblehead said her son has been a student at the music school for eight years and has participated in the recitals.

“There have been no issues,” Cameron said. “It’s a great place for students to play.”

The recitals are a great example of healthy peer pressure, Moore said.

“The kids are doing something cool, and they don’t want to let their friends down,” Moore said, so students work through their stage fright and give a great performance.”

To see a sample of what to expect to see and hear at these recitals, listen to the band Five Elements and their drummer Charlie Tilton, on YouTube by visiting youtu.be/IIKtuKUcSas. Parent Clynton Hunt made the video and says the band has preformed three times in front of a live audience. His son Callum plays guitar in the band.